海角大神

The New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 鈥�70s 鈥� in which writers like Joan Didion and Truman Capote blended subjective views with fictional techniques 鈥� 鈥渉ad a secularism problem,鈥� argue Costica Bradatan and Ed Simon in the introduction of 鈥淭he God Beat: What Journalism Says about Faith and Why It Matters.鈥� New Journalism, they contend, 鈥渙ften ignored the questions of meaning and transcendence that lay at the center of the human experience.鈥澛�

That changed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to Bradatan and Simon, who edited this vibrant collection of 26 essays. Writers were reminded that religion and spirituality 鈥� however defined or undefined 鈥� were 鈥渟till very much pertinent in the modern world.鈥� And this book proves there鈥檚 great promise in a still emerging genre. The writing here is crisp and vivid and unafraid.

In the essay 鈥淥n the Threshing Floor,鈥� Daniel Jos茅 Camacho discusses his struggle to decipher his own identity. While he is suspicious of ancestry tests, he also admits that he鈥檚 curious, and that he has looked at his brother鈥檚 DNA results. By a relatively small margin, Spanish heritage dominates, but there鈥檚 also a significant amount of Native American and African roots there too. The author doesn鈥檛 want to erase those origins in a 鈥渕elting pot of whiteness.鈥� He shares with readers the cause of his unease: The DNA test can鈥檛 tell him how to relate to all this information.聽

Instead, the author looks to the Bible to find a road map for his search for identity. He interprets Jesus鈥� baptism by John as 鈥渢he moment that [Jesus鈥橾 identity was made absolutely clear.鈥� Camacho adds that a sense of self-knowledge is a prerequisite for engaging in a life of service, saying that such a path 鈥渞equires a type of baptism.鈥� He points out that before Jesus 鈥渆ngages in any activism, God calls him 鈥榖eloved.鈥欌�� This naming isn鈥檛 what God needs to hear 鈥� 鈥渋t鈥檚 what we need to hear.鈥�

No matter where one falls on the spiritual spectrum, Camacho鈥檚 piece, originally published in Sojourners, is a wake-up call to ponder an inward life, and to be alert to the counterfeits that stand in the way.

Emma Green鈥檚 affecting piece in The Atlantic, 鈥淲ill Anyone Remember Eleven Dead Jews?鈥� follows the 180-degree turn that archivist Eric Lidji鈥檚 life took following the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in October 2018.聽

While socializing at his local synagogue, he heard about the massacre at the nearby Tree of Life synagogue; 11 Jewish worshippers had been killed.聽

Previously 鈥渁n ardent psalmist of Pittsburgh鈥檚 quirky charms,鈥� as Green describes him, Lidji鈥檚 job until then had consisted of collecting posters of local Yiddish theater productions. But within hours, the Jewish tradition of laying artwork and stones on graves began on the sidewalks outside the synagogue where the shooting took place. The outpouring of emotion touched Lidji, and he knew what he had to do. These artifacts needed to be preserved.

Lidji and others formed a task force and began attending vigils, funerals, and religious events across and beyond the community. The goal was to chronicle the grief and confusion around the massacre 鈥� obtaining signs in solidarity and protest, sticky notes, digital reflections, and donations of whatever might appear 鈥渁t the bottom of a purse or in a pocket emptied for laundry.鈥澛�

Lidji鈥檚 work 鈥� as well as his own faith in Judaism, renewed that October 鈥� continue on. When living memory is gone, the archive will keep the tragedy, and the hatred that caused it, from being reduced to a headline.

鈥淚n Praise of Gods That Don鈥檛 Exist,鈥� originally published in Aeon, relates journalist and atheist Nat Case鈥檚 personal account of joining a Quaker community. The 鈥渃onfirmed skeptic鈥� writes that doing so helped him 鈥渁sk Whatever-There-Is a question鈥� 鈥� and sometimes he received answers.聽

History professor Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen鈥檚 鈥淶en and the Art of a Higher Education鈥� from the Los Angeles Review of Books revisits the 1974 classic 鈥淶en and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,鈥� giving a robust argument for its place in today鈥檚 university classroom.聽

Oxford professor of Indian history Faisal Devji unflinchingly objects to the oversimplification of religious harmony in 鈥淎gainst Muslim Unity鈥� from Aeon.

Maybe in the end it鈥檚 Briallen Hopper鈥檚 鈥淟earning to Write About Religion鈥� from the Revealer that crystallizes the motivation for the assembly of all these works. Hopper says the best advice she ever got was from a graduate school professor: 鈥渨rite out of a sense of unease.鈥�

Though one or two of the essays feels out of sync with either religion or spirituality, that鈥檚 a small quibble. 鈥淭he God Beat鈥� is a book to be reckoned with. It asks the reader to take it all in 鈥� whatever touches on both the holy and the unholy. It鈥檚 an invitation to listen, not to judge. And these days, that feels like a skill to be practiced.